This blog is meant to display my coins/currency notes/stamps, in an informative manner, which would be useful to users in knowing about the history of the period when these coins/banknotes/stamps were minted/printed and events/persons they honour/depict, both on Indian and foreign coins/banknotes/stamps. The content would be more in the nature of a walk down memory lane through my collection/articles.

On 15.04.1917 afternoon, a
multitude of local citizens had gathered at Motihari Railway Station in the
Indian State of Bihar’s East Champaran, waiting for a man who was destined to
lift their lives out of misery.

At 3.00 PM, Gandhiji
alighted at the station from a train coming from Muzaffarpur.

One of the places Gandhiji
went to was the Bhitiharwa Ashram in Champaran, North Bihar, where he had
earlier come in the same year to conduct the famous “Indigo Labour Enquiry” and
then launched a Satyagrah against forced cultivation of indigo by poor farmers.

It was at Champaran that
the transformation of Mohandas Gandhi into the “Mahatma” (Great Soul”) began to
take place. This is the story of Gandhiji’s first Satyagrah, and the Champaran movement began a new chapter in
India’s Independence struggle.

The
Story:

After his return from
South Africa in 1915, Gandhiji established the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat.
Then, upon the advice of his mentor Gopal Krishna Gokhale, he embarked on a
“journey to discover India”. He travelled all over the country from Calcutta
(present day Kolkata) and Shantineketan in Bengal to Kanpur and to Rangoon
(present day Yangon) in Burma and to the town of Rishikesh.

During the 31st
Session of the Indian National Congress (1916) in Lucknow, Gandhiji met Raj
Kumar Shukla, a Representative of farmers from Champaran, who requested him to
go and see for himself the miseries of the indigo “ryots” (tenant farmers) there.

The farmers were poorly
compensated for their indigo crops and if they refused to plant indigo, they
had to face heavy taxation. The landlords, mostly British would enforce this
system through their agents called “gumasta”
who virtually terrorised the farmers.

As a result, the reduced
production of the much-needed food crops and exclusive indigo farming (as the
farmers were not allowed to grow any other crop even during the off-season) had
brought about untold sufferings upon the “ryots”,
and a famine-like situation had occurred.

Therefore, the news of
Gandhiji’s arrival reached Champaran, it spread like wildfire and he was
greeted by a multitude of peasants gathered at Railway Stations all along the
way from Muzaffarpur to Motihari.

A day after reaching
Motihari, Gandhiji left for the village of Jasaulipatti – he had heard about a
tenant there who had been beaten and whose property had been destroyed by the
landlords.

On the way to
Jasaulipatti, Gandhji was served a notice from the British District Magistrate
WB Heycock giving him orders to leave Champaran by the next available train.
Gandhiji refused to comply and was arrested by the police.

He was produced before a
court on April 18 where the Magistrate proposed a deal stating – “If you leave
the district now and promise not to return, the case against you will be withdrawn”.
Gandhiji replied” I came here to render humanitarian services to the people of
this region. I shall make Champaran my home and not leave till I have helped
these suffering people.”

The
immediate impact:

With the kind of support
Gandhiji was already receiving from the people of Champaran, the British
Government, fearing massive unrest, released him. Two days later, the case was
withdrawn and Gandhiji was allowed to remain in the district. The Government
also instructed its officers to look into the causes of the indigo farmer’s
sufferings.

The
subsequent steps taken by Gandhiji:

During his stay in
Champaran, Gandhiji took up residence at Hazarimal Dharmashala in Bettiah
village. He then visited many villages in the region to study the grievances of
the peasants. He recorded the statements and testimonies of 8,000 indigo cultivators
to understand their issues and the causes underlying them.

Soon realising that
ignorance and illiteracy among the farmers had made it easy for the British
landlords to exploit and repress them, Gandhiji set up voluntary organisations
to improve the economic and educational conditions of the people.

He laid the foundations
for three schools in 1917 – the first near Motihari, the second in Bhitiharwa
and the third in Madhuban.

To bridge the gap between
education and work, he also set up several self-sustaining “Buniyadi” (Foundation) schools where
training in spinning, carpentry, farming and weaving were imparted as a part of
school education.

The
outcome of Gandhiji’s movement:

Realising Gandhiji’s
strength and devotion to the cause, the government made him a member of the
Enquiry Committee constituted to look into the excesses committed by
landlords and planters. In October 1917, the committee submitted its
report to the Government and on 20.11.1917, the Champaran Agrarian Bill was submitted in the Bihar
Legislative Assembly and was enacted into Law with the formal signature of the
Governor General.

After almost a year after
Gandhiji’s arrival, the exploitative Tinkhathia system had been finally
abolished.

The
emergence/significance of Satyagrah as a “potent instrument” for fighting
against injustice and exploitation:

There have been peasant
movements before and after the Champaran Movement (1917), but what makes
Gandhiji’s Champaran Satyagrah significant is the fact that it was the first
time that bridges had been built between the peasants and the other sections –
especially the middle class intelligentsia. In this sense, the symbolic
significance of this Satyagrah was much greater than what actually happened in
Champaran.

Three
Commemorative Stamps issued by India Post in the denominations of 500, 1000 and
2500 Paise (or Rs.5/-, 10/- and 25/-) on 13.05.2017:

A Miniature sheet of
stamps issued on the occasion bears the title "Champaran Satyagraha Centenary" and contains all three stamps - Rs.5/-, Rs.10 and
Rs.25/-. It also shows farmers at work with automated machines

This First Day Cover (FDC) bears a Cancelled Miniature Sheet of stamps. An image of Mahatma Gandhi taking notes (is shown at left bottom). Above him is the Order of the government of Bihar and Orissa titled "Mr. Gandhi charged with Disobeying notice" (Orders reserved). To his side is a group of three farmers ploughing/tilling their fields freely as a result of Mahatma Gandhi's successful Satyagrah mission at Champaran. The Cancellation Hand-Stamp is of New Delhi Head Office and is inscribed "Champaran Satyagrah Shatabdi" (in Hindi) and Champaran Satyagrah Centenary" (in English). It also bears an image of Mahatma Gandhi overseeing farmers at work in their fields. The Cancellation is dated "13.05.2017".

This First Day Cover (FDC) bears a set of the three stamps issued, of the denominations of 500 Paise or Rs.5/-, 1000 Paise or Rs.10/- and 2500 Paise or Rs.25/-. An
image of Mahatma Gandhi taking notes (is shown at left bottom). Above
him is the Order of the government of Bihar and Orissa titled "Mr.
Gandhi charged with Disobeying notice" (Orders reserved). To his side is
a group of three farmers ploughing/tilling their fields freely as a
result of Mahatma Gandhi's successful Satyagrah mission at Champaran.The
Cancellation Hand-Stamp is of New Delhi Head Office and is inscribed
"Champaran Satyagrah Shatabdi" (in Hindi) and Champaran Satyagrah
Centenary" (in English). It also bears an image of Mahatma Gandhi
overseeing farmers at work in their fields. The Cancellation is dated
"13.05.2017".

The 500 Paise or Rs.5/-
stamp issued on the occasion shows an image of a young Gandhi sitting on a
chair. It bears one of Gandhiji’s quotes – “It is no exaggeration, but the
literal truth, to say that in this meeting with the peasants I was face to face
with God, Ahimsa and Truth” (MK Gandhi)

The 1000 Paise or Rs.10/-
stamp issued on the occasion shows an image of a young Kasturba Gandhi and an
image of a Buniyadi School set up by Gandhiji in which three women are reading
and learning from books

The 2500 Paise or Rs.25/-
stamp issued on the occasion shows an image of a young Gandhi and farmers at
work harvesting their crops, symbolising the enactment of the Champaran
Agrarian Bill which let the ryots grow food crops and stopped their
exploitation by British landlords

The Information Brochure issued on the occasion of release of the three stamps

Three se-tenant stamp sets
on the three stamps - Rs.5/-, Rs.10 and Rs.25/-

About Me

I am Rajeev Prasad, a retired State Bank of India officer who had been collecting coins in a shoe box without having a serious interest. Only after quitting my job I got the time to take serious interest in developing my coin collection into a hobby. A pity, because I would have had more opportunity to lay my hands on more 'exclusive coins' while in the Bank. Anyway, as they say,better late than never. If you have any views to share with me regarding this blog , please contact me on my email rajeevprasad1208@gmail.com. I also have a twitter account @prasad_rajeev.
I had an opportunity to participate in a Documentary on the life and times of the 25 paise coin titled “Chal Basi Chavanni” (The four anna/twenty five paise coin passes away), aired by STAR NEWS on 29th and 30th June 2011. The programme helped in making many persons hold back onto their “chavannis”, the little round beauties, instead of returning them to Banks .